Traveling in Africa

Traveling in Africa  has been quite an interesting experience...there's never a dull moment! Here are a few things I have learned about traveling during my time in Togo:


1. It takes almost as long to barter the price of the ride as it does to get there (oh, the joys of being a yovo in West Africa!)


2. Helmets and side-mirrors are not actually a necessity, just an added bonus for some...


3. If a zemi (aka motor taxi) has a working spedometer, you have found a nice ride...if the zemi has a working spedometer, side mirrors, AND a working gas gauge, you have found a REALLY nice ride!


4. Sometimes it is just better to close your eyes than to watch what's going on in front of you


5. It is possible to ride a motorcycle in a dress (I never thought I would even  try!)


6. If you need to stop and get gas, there will probably be some glass bottles and funnels involved :)


7. There is never too much luggage...Somehow it will all be packed on top of a car or bus...the same is true for fitting people inside!


8. If you don't see a visible path, that doesn't mean you can't drive on it...even if you're driving through grass up a mountain, you WILL get to the top somehow! 


9. If something breaks on the car/bus, it can be fixed...even if the car still looks/sounds like it will fall apart at any minute...somehow it runs...after all,  this is Africa!


10. Sidewalks are perfectly acceptable places for motorcycles to drive...no one will say anything because everyone does it!

Never too much to fit!

This was when we fit 9 yovos (plus the driver) in a taxi!

CRAZY!!

Zemi ride in Benin (with my luggage :)

A special wedding

There's one really cool story that I recently became aware of...right when I was feeling like all the patient stories had finished up for this field service, God brought another my way...

I was out on the dock one day helping some people pack up the physiotherapy tent and had been walking back and forth carrying things from the dock to our containers inside the ship...As I was busy scurrying about, a patient called me over (the hospital had closed but there were still a few last days of post-op appointments to check up on the patients)...His name was Daouda and he proceeded to tell me his story...

He told me the story of how he had come to Mercy Ships for surgery...It all began with a love story...he had met his fiancee and fallen in love...(which was quite a story in and of itself...my favorite part was that when she didn't want to give him her number, he asked to borrow her phone one day and called his own number so that he could save it in his phone...sneaky and persistent...but it worked in the end!)...So, he and the girl had fallen in love...and got engaged about a year ago (which was also quite a process because in their culture, the guy has to meet all the family members and they ALL have  to approve before their sister can marry him!)...But, he hadn't been able to marry her yet...he was born with his fingers stuck together...so he wasn't going to be able to put a ring on his ring finger until he had surgery to separate them!

So, he started saving up money...and a year later, he was still saving...and waiting...Then, he heard about Mercy Ships and was able to come for a free surgery to separate his fingers! He was so grateful for Mercy Ships! After telling me his story, he gave me a wedding invitation and told me he'd like me to come! I was so excited because I had heard about this guy before...but hadn't met him before...and hadn't heard his whole story...and now, he was inviting me to his wedding!

So, this weekend, some friends and I got decked out in our African outfits and headed to the wedding...It was really special to be a part of such an important day...We felt really honored  to be there too because there were less than a hundred people in attendance and nine of us were from Mercy Ships!

Me and a couple friends at the wedding reception

The wedding ceremony was a bit different than what I'm used to...and different than the last African wedding since this one was a Muslim wedding...but, it was great to see Daouda and his wife so happy and to be a part of their big day! Even though Daouda isn't a Christian, it was so awesome to see how God worked out the timing of Mercy Ships coming to Togo so that he could have his surgery before his wedding...and I pray that the Lord continues to use the impact of Mercy Ships to bring him closer to Christ!

Roundtrip run to Ghana

One of the things that I wanted to do ever since I came to Togo was do a big run...my friend Ginger had told us how she ran a half-marathon last year when the ship was in Benin, so we looked into it to see if there would be any half-marathons in Togo this year...no such luck. During the outreach, I had a few friends who decided they would run to Ghana (the country west of us) since the border is only about 10 Kilometers away. I thought it would be fun to do, but didn't finally attempt it until  last week. My friend Tania and I ran the 10 Kilometers together and had a lot of fun! It was a great bonding experience!

Running in Africa is always such an adventure! As Tania and I were running along, we had lots of people on the road cheering us on.."Tres bien" (very good), "Di courage" (a saying that they like to say to runners on the street...it more or less means take courage or keep going from what I understand)...Lots of people were encouraging us and cheering for us as we ran by!

The path we took was right along the beach road, so even  though we weren't actually running on the beach, we could see the ocean for most of the run. There were all kinds of other sights, sounds, and smells (oh the smells of Africa!!)...there were lots of cars and zemis out on the road already. In fact, we actually saw an accident happen right in front of us as we were running! A motor-taxi hit a woman running across the street with a bucket of apples on her head! The apples went everywhere, the motorcylce went down, and the woman fell over right onto the sidewalk in front of us, along with the two guys who had been riding the motorbike..thankfully, everyone was alright...we asked them if they were ok and made sure they could move everything ok....As we were standing there, a crowd formed and it got a little crazy. I was shocked that some people started shouting at the woman and telling her she shouldn't be running across the street in front of the motor-taxis...I admit it's a good point, but seriously bad timing to discuss it...I mean, come on, the lady just got hit by a motorcycle!! Pointing fingers and yelling at her probably wasn't the best way to handle it!
Anyway, we stayed for a minute to make sure everyone was ok...then, when the crowd formed, we decided to move on, as there were no apparent major injuries and there were now people attending to the situation...

We continued running along and soon enough, we found ourselves at the Ghana border! After buying a little extra water, we walked over to the ocean and just stretched and relaxed for a bit...it was a nice feeling to just take in the beauty of the ocean and realize I'd just ran to another country! I mean, I know it wasn't that long of a run, but it still  felt like a nice accomplishment!

We started out with Aleah...

But only Tania and I finished together

(with our red faces and bags of water at the end)

A couple days later, my friend Becca asked if I wanted to do the roundtrip run with her...all the way to the Ghana border and all the way back! I was a bit nervous that it would be a little too long since I hadn't done a ton of recent training with long runs...but I thought I'd give it a shot...

So, today we got up early and headed out....all we brought with us was our I-pods (yes, I know it's not smart to run with them in Lome, but I just had to take that chance...I mean, it's about 12 miles and I wasn't  gonna run that far without music!), water, emergency taxi money, and Lok (well, actually he was already coming with us...but it was nice to have one of our gierkas aka security guards running alongside us!).

Once again, there were lots of exciting things to see along the way...but thankfully, no accidents! There were quite a few Africans out running as well, since it was a Saturday morning and lots of people here tend to run on the weekends...we even saw a dad running with his three little children (one looked like he was only about 5 years old!)...I think my favorite part of the run was when my roommates and Stefan (my "German dad" as I call him) passed by in a Landrover (they were heading into Ghana today)...They honked and waved as they passed us...funny that we almost made it to the border before they did :)

We didn't end up needing our "emergency taxi money," which I was happy about because I definitely would've been disappointed if we hadn't finished the run! But, I have to say, as we passed by all the taxi drivers lined up along the side of the road every couple of miles, there were a few times that my legs just felt tired and I stole a longing glance at the comfortable taxi, accompanied by the nice taxi drivers calling us over for a ride...it made me think about life and how there is always the temptation to "take the easy way out" instead of running the race that God intended for us. Tempation is always there for us along the road and it would be so easy to just get in and be selfish, but we would be missing out for God's perfect plan for our lives (I don't know, I like analogies and every now and then, I get those deep thoughts when I'm running). So, every time I saw those taxi drivers motioning me over, I would  just think to myself, "Nope, I'm definitely not taking the easy way out!"

But the run honestly didn't turn out to be as difficult as I had expected...sure, there were times when my legs felt tired, but it wasn't really until the last mile or two that I really wanted to stop running and just walk. But, we kept encouraging each other and finished strong! We ended up finishing the entire run in almost exactly two hours, which we were happy about...we got back around 8 am and I thought to myself, "Wow, I definitely don't usually accomplish this much by 8:00 in the morning!" It was a nice feeling of accomplishment!

So, even though we didn't get our half-marathon this year, we got our 12+ mile-run and a great experience together!

Becca, Lok, and I at the end of the run

Last but not least

Today, the last patient left the hospital. It was sad to see Josee leave, but amazing to say goodbye, knowing the transformation that had occurred in this 18-year old girl over the past several months. Josee came to the ship about 3 months ago for surgery on her foot. She had a deformity of her toes that required her to wear special shoes. She had surgery, went home, and then came back due to an infection in her foot.

Me & Josee

But, I think there was a bigger purpose for her coming back that didn't involve antibiotics, daily soaks, or dressing changes on her foot....instead, it was her for her heart. From the time Josee came to the ship until now, she has been eager to get close to God, read the Bible, and learn all that she could. It was great being able to talk to Josee about the Bible and about her own life...it was great that she spoke English and French because we were able to talk together about her struggles...

Some of my favorite shifts were the evening shifts when I got to spend with Josee and read the Bible together with her...we would take turns reading (in French mind you) and she would listen patiently as I stumbled through the French words....I felt like a 5-year old child learning to read, but she loved it. Then, she would take a turn reading for a bit and we would go back and forth and talk about the verses. My favorite was tucking Josee in to bed...I would ask, "Josee, can I pray for you?"...every time I asked this question, her eyes would light up, a big smile would come across her face, and she would hold my hands and wait for me to pray.

Josee gives the best hugs!

One night, I felt led to read this verse to Josee: "But he (God) said to me: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me...for when I am weak, then I am strong" (from 2 Corinthians 12)...As I read those verses to Josee, her eyes started tearing up...I knew that she was tired of being in the hospital and wanting to go home...many times, the patients around her would get discharged after only a few days in the hospital and she would get discouraged that she still had a way to go before she could leave...the infection was just taking a long time to heal...But, that night, God spoke to her that he would be sufficient for her and help her to be strong in her weaknesses. We decided to copy down the verse in French and put it up on a big paper over her bed so that she would have a constant reminder that God's grace would be sufficient.

Josee really made the hospital a different place. She was so full of joy and energy...she really lit up the wards..everyone who met her just fell in love with her...she was hard not to love!

So, after three months of living on the Africa Mercy, getting to know the nurses, and getting comfortable with the environment and people, Josee decided that she was coming with us to South Africa...she didn't want to leave...she wanted to sail along with us! She had really changed! So, when Josee was the very last patient to leave today, it felt like I was saying goodbye to a fellow crew member...she wasn't just someone who I had taken care of for a few days...she wasn't just a patient...she was a friend and she had found a special place in my heart! I don't know if I'll ever see her again on this earth, but I know that we'll see each other in heaven...a much better place than the hospital!

Oh, how I hate goodbyes

Tonight, my heart is heavy. It has been a really strange week with this dreaded day approaching...the mass exodus. Between these last two days, there have been about 50-60 people that have left the ship...It's always a little hard going down to the dock and waving people off...it's even harder when it's almost a fourth of our whole crew...so today, there is an emptiness...not just on the ship, but in my heart.

I have had to say goodbye to a lot of amazing people, some of whom live in countries I may never get to visit. It's always hard letting go of people. But, I think the hardest part of today was saying goodbye to Jen, my BSF (best ship friend...and no I'm not the only cheesy person that uses that abbreviation on the ship :)

Before I came to the ship, I prayed that God would give me one really close friend while I was in Togo...Jen was the answer to that prayer. Jen arrived on the ship one day before me....we got to know each other during the sail to Togo and somehow we just clicked. Soon enough, we were best of friends and pretty much inseparable. Some people called us twins...our names would get mixed up all the time...in fact, even today, right after Jen left the ship, a friend of mine accidentally called me Jen.

I have to say that Jen is one of the best friends I've ever had. She's one of those people that I can trust completely and tell everything to without worrying about being judged for it. She's the kind of friend that I can let loose with and totally be myself around. She's the kind of friend who understands me...who can finish my sentences before the words come out of my mouth. Just the other day, we were having a conversation with some other people and both of us kept saying the same thing at the exact same time...She looked at me and said 'This is wierd' and we both just laughed about it.

You know you've found a great friend when you can spend the entire day working together, go to breaks and meals together, and then hang out after work and still not be sick of each other! It was kind of funny how a lot of times, if Jen and I hadn't seen each other one day, we would call each other or stop by each other's cabins...because we spent so much time together that a whole day was just too long to be apart! :)

Even though I know I haven't lost Jen as a friend, I still feel a sense of loss with her leaving the ship. Of course, I have some really amazing friends who are still on the ship with me...but, I don't have my best friend anymore. Jen told me I'll find another best friend, but I would have to disagree and say that she is irreplaceable...but she's going back to Chicago and I'm staying in Africa...So, I guess it's time for me to say another prayer for God to bless me with a good friend...he answered that first prayer far above what I ever anticipated and I know he is looking out for me..so, Jen, even though I would prefer you to any replacement, I know God has other plans for you right now, so I suppose I'll send another prayer up...

Godwing, I love you

Over the last couple months, I've gotten to know one special little boy, Godwing. I first met Godwing over in B Ward. He was the 'little boy in the corner'...he had both of his casted legs propped up in casts and just seemed to take in all the action of B ward from his little corner of the room. For some reason, Godwing seemed to just latch onto me. I only actually took care of him once or twice, but every time I was working, he would motion me over...then, he would hold my hand and say to me 'Rebecca, I love you' in the cutest little voice. After a few minutes, I would go back to taking care of my other patients and then he would call my name and motion me over again, just to have me hang out with him or to tell me again that he loved me. It was a precious little relationship we formed.

Because Godwing lived up north, he had to stay at our hospitality center, about two miles from the ship. Every now and then, I would visit the hospitality center and I always saw my little Godwing there. Whenever, his mom would see me, she would motion over to Godwing and say 'Rebecca, I love you.' It pretty much became an extension of my name...it couldn't just be 'Rebecca,' it was 'Rebecca, I love you'...every time :) 

A couple of the cutest kids from the ward

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the church service at the hospitality center. It was so fun being able to see so many patients I had taken care of! We got to sing together, dance together (because we all know that dancing is essential in every church service in Africa), and learn about God together. 

Godwing at the hospitality center

My favorite part of the service was the testimonies at the end. The speaker asked if anyone would like to go up front to share what God had done in their life through Mercy Ships. I was so happy when Godwing's mother went up and started talking about how happy she was that her son can now walk. She called him up to the front to tell his story. One of the hospitality center workers who was helping to translate put him up on his shoulders and Godwing was beaming. He seemed so happy that his story was being told...and we were all so excited to see him walking so well with his casts off!

This past week, Godwing came back for his final post-op appointment. His mother gave me a big hug and told me that it was their last day on the ship. She looked at me sadly and said 'I wish I had something that I could give you, but I will promise to pray for you.' I told her that was a gift in and of itself and she smiled. It was sad saying goodbye to my little Godwing, but fulfilling to know that he was one of the little lives I was able to impact. Godwing, I love you...

Going home with Tani

It's not everyday that you get to go home with a patient...especially to a tiny little village out in Africa! But, this past week, that's exactly what I got to do! After my visit to my family in Basaar, I headed to Kara, another nearby town to meet the patients that were traveling home after surgery.

I got into the bus full of patients, barely able to believe that I was able to find them and now would be able to travel all the way to Dapaong (the city at the top of Togo, only about 30 kilometers from Burkina Faso). I looked at all the VVF women (the ladies who come for fistula repairs), admiring their beautiful new outfits that they received during their dress ceremonies, where they were finally able to dance again after years of being outcasts in their society due to a problem that developed during childbirth, causing them to leak urine and thus be shunned by those around them. The VVF ladies, ranging in age from mid-20's all the way to 60 years old were going home with new dresses and a new sparkle in their eyes, happy to be healed and excited for their new lives.

The few weeks that the VVF ladies had been on the ward had been a stretching time for me, as the nursing care was much different from what I'm used to as a pediatric nurse. It wasn't really my favorite thing in the world, but God stretched me through it, and seeing the joy that now shone through these ladies made it all worth it in the end. The women sat smiling and laughing. "We are so happy because we are healed," they told me. Those are the moments that I'm reminded that I really do get to be a part of something that is truly life-changing.

Dropping off one of our VVF ladies on the ride up

But, one patient that had significantly impacted my life was little 9-year old Tani. Tani was burned in a fire at a very young age. When she came to us on the ship, she had no nose at all, just a hole where her little nose had once been. She was missing her right eye as well. I remember the first time I saw Tani. Someone was taking pictures and she had the biggest smile of anyone on her face...but, it was clear that she was aware of her disfigured appearance, as she tried to put her hand over her right eye, so that the camera wouldn't capture the part of her that she didn't want anyone to see.

Tani with the other kids at the hospitality center

(before surgery)

Covering up that sweet little face

Tani quickly won all of our hearts. She was such a good little patient.  She underwent two different surgeries where the doctors made a new little nose for her, using a skin flap from her scalp and a graft from her leg. But, Tani's recovery was delayed by an infection she developed after surgery. As a result, she ended up being in the hospital for a little over a month, just long enough to become the star patient on the ward.

Tani would always help us with her nursing care. She loved to take the thermometer and take her own temperature, push her own meds out of the syringes into her mouth, and most of all....mouth care! Tani was supposed to use a special mouthwash to scrub her mouth with her little mouth swabs four times a day to prevent infection. Every time Tani needed to do mouth care, I would hand her the supplies and say "s'il vous plaît, laver la bouche" (Please clean your mouth). Tani got so accustomed to me saying this to her (she heard it a lot since she had to clean her mouth four times a day every day!) that every time she saw me, she would imitate me and say "S'il vous plait, laver la bouche" followed by little giggles.

Through all the coloring, disney movies, and the other fun activities on the ward, Tani and I developed a close relationship, so her eyes sparkled when I had told her I might come home with her to meet her family. Her primary caregiver during the majority of her time on the ship was 19-year old Amos, the son of Tani's pastor in Dapaong. He had never even met Tani before coming to the ship, but gave up a month of his summer vacation to take care of her...and basically became a big brother to her. So, it was fun to travel first to Amos' house, meet his parents and tell them how great of a job he had done.

The trip to Dapaong was beautiful, very green, wide-open spaces....not much around aside from some little mud huts every now and then. Every so often, we would stop for a bathroom break, find some bushes, and be on our way...that has become the norm for road trips for me now....TIA..

As we were driving along, Amos and I were talking about arrangements for Dapaong (it was all a little last minute, so there weren't a ton of plans made)...from what I had understood from our conversatons on the ship, I was going to stay at Amos' parents' house when we got there. But, on the drive, we were talking about it and Amos adamantly stated, "Oh, no, you can't stay at my house. It's too poor. White people can't stay there!" I couldn't help but laugh..."Well, I think I'll be just fine," I reassured him..."unless it's an inconvenience for your parents..if that's the case, I can stay at a hotel," I told him....He assured me that there was plenty of room and that his parents loved having guests, but kept shaking his head and saying that he didn't think it would be good enough...It made me kind of sad that he felt that I should be entitled to a nicer place just because I was white. I hate that mentality and I've seen it quite a bit here in Togo. If it's nice enough for you, then it's nice enough for me, I told him. And it turned out to work just fine.

Amos in front of the house

Me with Amos and his family

The first night in Dapaong, Tani and I shared a room. It was kind of special having a sleepover with one of my little patients. As I was getting ready for bed, I put on a bunch of mosquito repellent lotion (which didn't end up working at all!). As Tani watched me rub in on my arms, her eyes lit up and she pulled out a large bottle of baby lotion that she'd been given at the hospital. "Tata, regardez" (Auntie, look). She mimicked what I was doing and rubbed the lotion up and down her arms until the were shiny. It was so sweet. It was also the first time that Tani called me "Tata"...I was no longer just her nurse, now I was her Auntie and her friend. That really touched my heart.

My bed was on the concrete floor...but still ok for a white person :)

The next day, we headed out to Tani's village. Amos' father, me, and Tani were all piled onto one motorcycle and Amos rode behind us on a motor taxi. He had offered to give up his spot on the motorcycle so that I could go to Tani's village and meet her family. But, I knew he wanted to go and I wasn't about to take his place and keep him from going to Tani's big homecoming without a fight. He didn't want me to have to pay the massive amount of 3,000 cephas for his zemi ride (a whopping $6). I told him it didn't matter..my mind was made up and he was going...he deserved it..he had just spent a month of his time caring for this little girl and he had every right to see her off to her home and meet her family. So, he finally agreed, even though I think he still felt bad about me spending the money...such a sweet kid!

Tani and Amos

                                              

The ride out to the village was beautiful...very open and green..we were on a bumpy dirt road for most of the ride, passing by small villages every now and then. It was fun driving through in the morning, seeing all the people starting off their day. Lots of women were walking down the road with their buckets on their heads, venturing  out to the place where they could fill up their water. We saw lots of people already working away at the ground in the field, as well as a few oxen plowing the fields....it reminded me of the stories in the Bible. It's kind of crazy how primitive some parts of Africa still are...but I have to say, I do love the beauty and simplicity of it all.

We finally arrived at Tani's house after about an hour's drive. Her home consisted of several little mud huts with lots of animals roaming around and lots of little children with questioning looks on their faces, curious about this yovo (white person) that had come back with their sister.

          

                                          

Someone ran out to call Tani's mother and as we waited for her to come home, Tani pulled out her bag of goodies from the ship. It was full of toys and stuffed animals that she had accrued over the last month she had spent in the hospital. It was so sweet watching her pull out all her toys, handing each one to a brother or sister. At one point, she was hunched over her bag with her little brother on her back, hanging on for dear life as she played Santa Claus and distributed presents. It was rather amusing...I tried to remind her that she had a little guy on her back so she wouldn't drop him, but he knew better than to let go...he seemed pretty well trained...after all, this is Africa :)

                                   

Tani went on distributing toys and proudly showed her brothers and sisters how the different toys worked until she finally got down to the very bottom and there was nothing left to give. It was so beautiful to see Tani's generous, unselfish heart in the toy distribution. The big smile across her face was good evidence that she has learned that it is "more blessed to give than to receive." I was so proud of her as I watched her interact with her brothers and sisters.

                                                      

                  Me with Tani's family

                                         

I would have to say that going home with Tani was one of my favorite experiences so far in Africa. I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to meet her family and I look forward to taking care of her in Sierra Leone next year!